The discovery of this century, the biggest leak of information in history... We refer to what has been spilled by the financial advisory office Mossack Fonseca of Panama, the financial manure that has splashed so many powerful people out of the 11.5 million documents that are opening up to the fourth largest offshore banking business in the world. And the biggest ones are still missing.
In a few weeks, the ordinary citizen has learned, in addition to the word offshore, a broad list of tax havens in the world, becoming aware that in addition to the exotic islands of the Caribbean money is being laundered in Nevada or Delaware, that Germany has a loophole in its legislation to act as a tax haven, which the President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, has ordered 20 years in European paradise, etc. But now you'd like to know if that whole stir would change things.
The real leakage of data from a Panamanian cabinet is of great interest, as many rich and political people justify with them the unpaid gains. However, the blog Moon of Alabama wrote with mistrust: “The selective filtration of Panama’s papers allows for an enormous blackmail capacity.”
“But the information of these weeks – says Moon of Alabama, which is known to the American Left – has been disseminated by some press empires supporting NATO and by an NGO funded by the United States Government, whose unrecognised goal is to stain the personalities who do not love the American empire. By the way, they give the opportunity to make others sing, offering them a favor that you do not divulge their names.”
In other words, even if it seems to be too schematic an assessment of a conspirator, it seems to be an interesting fact: the criminal behaviour of the law firm Mossak Fonseca, now comparable to the devil, has long been burned to the authorities.
16 months ago, in December 2014, investigative journalist Ken Silverstein published in Vic “The Law Firm That Works with Oligarchs, Money Launderers, and Dictators”, showing the activity of Mossak Fonseca. It mentions the hand kusi of Baxar El Assad and many other names.
The blog has endorsed the words of British diplomat Craig Murray in the article “The Western oligarchy is guarded by the main media since the leaks of Panama”. Murray also denounces that, after leaks have been left in the hands of the Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICI), most of the information does not reach the citizens, who so far a prestigious newspaper such as The Guardian has limited itself to mentioning politicians from countries punishable by the United Nations.
“I know that Russia and China are corrupted, don’t come to me with that. Why – Murray asks – do not cross the Mossack Fonseca files with the data of the major companies that are on the Western stock exchanges and each of the millionaires?”
The answer itself has advanced: Among those promoting the ICI are the foundations of major U.S. corporations such as Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller, W.K. Open Society Foundation of Kellogg or Georges Sun.
The Last Chance of Traditional Journalism
“Will The Panama Papers Kill Journalism?” (Should Panama papers kill journalism?) question Kostas Efimers, producer of the Greek and famous documentary Debtocracy, on the Press Project site. Journalists have always found great stories to draw the attention of the public, but since the beginning of digitalisation the role of the press has entered into crisis.
The mass media have reduced their journalistic teams and increased the trade sections, which have increased. “Great research – says Efibers – lasts a few days and journalists censor themselves, ignoring the companies that appear in their advertising windows.” In the face of the fear of large slander compensation that big companies may demand, the stories to be published must filter out a very thorough legal sieve to avoid any claim. Under these conditions, the journalist is fearful that he will be thrown out of the sea.
The new models of communication have transcended the fact that journalism was in crisis. Mostly WikiLeaks, which brings the denunciation of an individual activity to a new type of media. And through Cable we come to these Panamés Papers, through LuxLeaks, SwissLeaks, the appearances of Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and Herve Falciani.
On this occasion, according to Kostas Efimers, journalism is facing the last opportunity to regain its reputation. The successive publication of scandals, if it does not have consequences or punishments for those guilty, will serve rather to defeat people rather than to defeat despair and defeatism.
“The appearance of Panama’s papers,” Efibers wrote, is very different from the leaks made so far. For the first time, they don't offer a snapshot. Through them, a systematic and analytical study of the economic model and its development in the last 40 years can be carried out. It is 11.5 million documents from 1977 to the end of 2015 and we have at our disposal for the first time (supposedly) what has actually been a global conspiracy to explain the tools we need: the conspiracy of the rich on the backs of the poor. And what if journalism is not defending the interests of the majority against the few?”
The ICI consortium considers that it has acted incorrectly by leaving the review and selection of documentation in the hands of large media. It's no wonder that almost no one in the United States can show up there. But more importantly, in the form of presenting the scandal, it seems that the problem is that shameless capitalists have fraudulently stolen the sacred laws of a market that you cannot otherwise touch.
“Journalists mention some powerful people – without any problem for the shareholders of their media – but they fail to explain the picture globally: this is the global conspiracy that a small elite has organised to enrich themselves. Journalists fail to tell people that Mossack Fonseca is not a bad piece of the system: it is a piece of an evil system.”
Panamako paperetan agertu den Bizkaiko diputatu nagusi ohiak azaldu du Kuban autoekin negozioa egiteko inskribatu zuela ezkutuko sozietatea, hango gobernuak esanda.
In recent weeks we have been agitated because a consortium of journalists has filtered over 11.5 million documents that have appeared in Panama. They have only given us some famous names that appear in those documents, but we have to know that 1% of the world's population has... [+]
Maiatzaren lehena entzuten dudanean nire gaztaroa etortzen zait gogora; adin bat badaukat, eta aspaldi hartan egun debekatu gorriz markatua zen, manifestazio-ahaleginak (ahalegin hutsak, askotan, “ehiztariak” segituan agertzen ziren-eta), lasterka saioak eta... [+]
“Panamako paperen” filtrazioaren harira, bere aitaren Offshore inbertsio funtsaz baliatu izana onartu du Erresuma Batuko lehen ministro David Cameronek, The Guardian egunkariak argitaratu duenez. Cameronek 2010ean, kargua onartu baino lau hilabete lehenago,... [+]
Realak paradisu fiskaletako elkarteak baliatu zituen atzerriko jokalariei ordainketak egin eta bai hauek, eta baita klubak ere ogasunari diru gutxiago ordaintzeko 2000 eta 2008 bitartean. Panama Papers ikerketan agertu da Reala, 2008an dagoeneko argitaratu zen informazioarekin.
Elkarri bostekoa eman diote Raul Castro eta Barack Obamak Panaman egindako Ameriketako VII. Goi Bileran.